This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Operation of a vehicle, such as an automobile or aircraft, typically requires that the driver or operator interact with a user interface. Modern user interfaces can include various graphics and digital display formats, and can be operated in a variety of different ways, such as with voice commands, touch displays, and joysticks. Proficiency to operate modern user interfaces varies greatly among drivers. For example, older drivers who are accustomed to traditional dial speedometers may find it more difficult to operate modern user interfaces than younger drivers who have grown up playing video games, which often include similar user interfaces.
To measure a driver's ability and workload required to operate a particular user interface, as well as rate the ease of use for a particular user interface, drivers are often asked to answer a series of questions requiring subjective answers. For example, for a particular task, such as placing a telephone call, the driver may be asked the following series of questions: was it possible to complete the task; was the workload tolerable for the task; were you able to adequately concentrate on operating the vehicle during performance of the task; on a scale of one to ten, how difficult was it overall to operate the user interface to complete the task? Because the questions solicit subjective answers, it is difficult to arrive at an accurate assessment of the drivers ability to operate a particular user interface, particularly for a driver who overestimates his/her skills or is simply embarrassed to admit deficiencies in his/her skill set. Applicants' have thus invented a method for objectively measuring a driver's ability to operate a motor vehicle user interface, which allows the user interface to be customized to the driver's ability.